Emuna: What Makes Jerusalem Special

by Rav Moshe Tzuriel, of saintly blessed memory, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

It is really quite remarkable that the name "Jerusalem" does not appear even once in the Five Books of the Torah. This is of course not because the Eternal City is not important; quite the contrary. The Torah calls it "the place that Hashem your G-d will choose to establish His Name" (D'varim 12,21). And in another 19 places, as well, it calls it the place "that G-d will choose." Why is this? 

Because, as we read in the last five words of the Book of Yechezkel, "The name of the city from that day on will be 'G-d is there.'" That is, when a person wants to set a meeting with a friend in Jerusalem, he will say, "Let's meet in the city that G-d chose to place His presence there" – and everyone will know to what he is referring. For this is the place that G-d chose even before the Creation of the World (Medrash Tehillim 76)! As is stated straight out: "For G-d chose Zion, He desired it for His habitation" (Tehillim 132,13). 

Jerusalem and the Holy Land

There is a major difference between the sanctity of Jerusalem and that of the rest of the Land of Israel. The latter is contingent upon the arrival in the Land of most of the Jewish People from around the world (Tr. Nazir 42a). But the sanctity of the Holy Temple and Jerusalem is solely because of the Divine Presence, which is permanent and not transient (see Rambam, Laws of the Holy Temple, 6,16). In short, the sanctity of Jerusalem stems not from Israel's presence there, but because of G-d's perpetual presence there.

Let us note that regarding the Sukkot commandment of taking the Four Species (lulav, etrog, etc.), the Torah states (Vayikra 23,40) that this applies only on the first day of Sukkot – but then immediately says that we must rejoice before G-d for all seven days of the festival! So which is it? The answer is that in Jerusalem, "before G-d," we are to take the Four Species on each of the seven days of the festival, while everywhere else, it is required Biblically only on the first day. 

The Prophet Jeremiah says: "For at that time, they will call Jerusalem the chair of G-d" (3,17). What does this mean? The Rambam (in his Guide 1,9) defines the Heavenly term "chair" as follows: 

"Since [in ancient times] only important people such as kings would sit on chairs [while the others would sit on benches, stools and mats], a chair became a symbol of honor for those for whom it was made. And therefore, the Holy Temple was called "chair" (Jeremiah 14,21). And this is why the heavens are called "chair" (Isaiah 66,1)…" 

The above-cited verse from Jeremiah continues: "All the nations will gather there for G-d's name to Jerusalem, and they will no longer go after the arbitrary stubbornness of their evil heart." The Malbim explains, partially based on the Abarbanel, as follows: 

"The current situation is that G-d dwells in His throne in the heavens, and His leadership and supervision over the world are felt only from far, and only according to natural law. In the future, however, G-d's leadership and dominion will be felt from up close, from Jerusalem, with miracles, beyond the natural. It will then be as if G-d sits above – leading, supervising, and ruling. And this is why "all the nations will gather there" – not for war, and not simply to enjoy its fruits, but only "for G-d's Name" and also "to Jerusalem," because of the city's importance. "And they will no longer go after the arbitrary stubbornness of their evil heart," because they will all recognize G-d's kingdom and His unity, His ways, and His Torah."

Let us conclude with the idea of G-d's protection of our Holy City, the Eternal City (B'rachot 58a). Jerusalem surrounds the Holy Temple, teaching us that "Jerusalem, mountains surrounds it, and Hashem surrounds His Nation, from now and forever" (Tehillim 125,2). That is: Whoever visits Jerusalem sees seven hills around it… and whoever looks deeply into Torah understands that the number seven is quite purposeful. And why did G-d establish this unique topographic structure around Jerusalem? The Prophet Zechariah adds a dimension: "And I will be for [Jerusalem], says G-d, [as] a wall of fire around it, and for its honor I will be in it" (2,9). What we see with our eyes teaches us the inner essence: G-d is watching over us!  

Every Jew must gain strength and faith and trust from this very precious thought. 

Let us conclude with the words of the Book of the Kuzari, which ends with this: "Jerusalem will not be rebuilt before the Children of Israel long for it totally and completely, to the extent that they will love its rocks and dirt [based on Tehillim 102,15]." Let us wake up!!

In fact, the value of the Land of Israel lies in the fact that Jerusalem dwells within it. So wrote the Maharal of Prague (in his Gur Aryeh commentary on Rashi, B'reshit 32,1). And so is written in the Zohar. This explains why the Sages often note the praise of "Jerusalem" whilst citing a verse that refers to the entire Land, as in B'rachot 6a – for the latter is dependent on the former.